Ohmic contacts for GaN-based devices are typically realized by gold-based contacts or alloyed contacts. Gold-based contacts are not compatible with CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) technology, but are technologically easier to implement than alloyed contacts which are CMOS compatible. In order to improve the contact resistance of alloyed ohmic contacts, a silicon implantation can be coupled to the alloyed contacts which helps reduce the total contact resistance of the source and drain ohmic contacts. However, an external dopant source such as silane gas is introduced into the processing chamber in order to implant silicon into the alloyed contacts. The problem of realizing a low resistance ohmic contact remains a central problem for conventional GaN technology, especially when middle and low-voltage class devices are considered.